Taken
by Writing Contradictions
Summary: That day... Everything went wrong. Grey Terminal burned, Sabo left, Luffy was taken by pirates and sold to the Tenryuubito... Ace won't let it get any worse than this. He will, no matter what, save Luffy and be the great pirate that he always knew he would be! No pairings.


**Moby Dick**

"Pops! Pops!" A man ran into the captain's large quarters with newspapers in hand. Frantically, he waved his hands for attention which all the commanders and captain of the ship gave. Large desperation and fear shone in his widened eyes. The captain narrowed his eyes; a bad feeling already set off billions of alarms in his head,

"What is it?"

The newcomer thrust the newspaper into his hand while reporting, "Alabastia is having a civil war! The whole country is tearing each other apart over a conspiracy theory!"

The commanders nearby raised their brows in shock. They knew the king of Alabastia and he was the nicest, most reasonable king in the world. There was no way that he would ever do something to cause a civil war! He wouldn't even hurt a fly in his lands if he could help it! The captain, fully alert, scanned the papers with increasing anger. He didn't know who wrote the article, but there was no way that that king would ever do the things listed in there. He looked up at his men; they all stood tall awaiting orders.

"Sons, we're heading to Alabastia."

"OSSU!" They all ran out of the room, beginning the starts of their preparation to go to war. They would never leave behind a friend in need.

And the king surely needed it.

* * *

**Grey Terminal**

"LUFFY!" Ace widened his eyes in shock as the crates began bursting into flames and burning the mountains of trash, sending nasty black fumes into the air. The residents of Grey Terminal screamed and ran to wherever the fire did not lick. No such area. Chaos roused, bringing hell onto Earth.

But Ace didn't care. He ran to Luffy's side, panicking at the large puddle of blood escaping the little boy. Why didn't that useless devil fruit ability of his little brother work? Bullets weren't supposed to hurt rubbermen! Why?

His attention snapped back to the horrible situation before him as a loud maniacal laugh exploded in front of him. And his world faded to crimson black.

It's all their fault. They took away Sabo. They stole their money. They caused the fire. They shot Luffy. They—

"I WILL KILL YOU! BBLLLUUUUEEEJJJJJAAAMMMM!"

Ace charged; his iron pipe gleaming darkly in the fire's fiendish light. The captain just remained composed and dodged the incoming barrage of attacks. His smirk grew wider as his plan worked. Out of the corner of his eyes, his men had captured the rubber boy and ran back to the ship where seastone cuffs were awaiting. He knew that he couldn't trust nobles, but they were his money pot. And he knew about the incoming Tenryuubito and their notorious love for slaves.

Surely, they'd love to buy an exotic, rubber brat. He'd be useful in a lot of ways…

The BlueJam Captain burst into laughter again, irritating the boy in front of him. Ace snarled beastly and with all his might, slammed his pipe into the pirate captain's gut. Caught off guard, the blow made contact and sent him wheezing his gut out. With the chance, Ace once again rapidly slashed his pipe against the man. He was going to kill him again and again and again—until the black beast in him soothed again. But that will never happen. He hurt his brothers! His family! His nakama!

Suddenly, the captain caught the pipe with his hands and with a cough of blood, glared murderously at Ace, "You know… I was originally planning on selling you too… But I change my mind quite fast these days—I'll beat you up and chop you into unrecognizable pieces. And then I'll torture that rubber brat and make you regret ever messing with me."

At the mention, Ace whipped his head around and saw no Luffy. Cursing himself for his carelessness, he growled at the Bluejam Captain, "What did you do to him? Where did you take him? Answer me, bastard."

Bluejam knew that he hit the spot and smirked, "Why, back to the ship, Ace. Did you know that the world nobles, Tenryuubito, are visiting? That's why the High Town nobles have their panties in a knot and are running around 'beautifying' the town by 'erasing' all trash. And the Tenryuubito like a good slave. That rubber brat will surely raise high prices with his devil fruit ability and 'exotic' looks."

Ace widened his eyes in horror, "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would. I'm sure that the Tenryuubito like a _good toy_. And the brat _a good stretch_."

He may be only ten years old, but even Ace knew the underlying meaning of those words that Bluejam _oh so graciously_ emphasized. And even without that devil fruit of his, Ace knew that Luffy could attract the attention of any pervert with his pure innocence and current ignorance of the dark world. Ace and Sabo couldn't even count on their hands just how many times they had to drive away such people from the boy without him knowing.

Now Ace was furious. But this time, he became eerily silent. Bluejam victoriously thought to himself that he had broken the kid, but flinched in mild fear as he felt a hateful killer aura emitting from the boy. If he was anyone near ordinary, then he would have peed in his pants and ran away. But he is a pirate captain and saw his lot of glares… Just that this one was maybe maybe a bit stronger and scarier. Ace gripped his iron pipe even harder until his knuckles turned bone white and silently walked towards the pirate captain.

The pirate captain's gut was telling him to run away, but pride told him not. And pride won. He fixed himself to the ground and readied himself to fight.

* * *

**Goa Kingdom**

All rotten filth. All monsters. All assholes. All damn d-damn JERKS!

Sabo ran through the streets, away from the false smiles, the rotting black hearts, away from those dirty monsters called his parents. All he could see in that world was trash trash trash. Murky darkness oppressed everything in that place. It clawed at him and chained his wings, expecting him to continue living and letting the world corrupt his soul. He would not give the world such pleasure. He was not going to give his parents that pleasure. He WAS NOT related to those bogus monsters at all.

No. He had no parents. Those were not his parents. They could go die for all he cared. He felt ashamed of his blood, his heritage, HIS PARENTS. He was ashamed of being born a noble.

Running away, he smelled the scent of burning trash. Shocked, he looked up to see the place that he called home enveloped in gigantic flames. Crashing into a wall from the shock, he emptied his stomach at the mere thought that people—people—were getting burned up alive over there. And here, no one cared. No, they planned it like they were just stepping on bugs or something. Tears fell freely from his eyes. Didn't anyone care? Did no one think that the people who lived on those mountains of trash and tried their best to earn a living had a life? Did no one think that they were human even though they acted more human than the people in High Town?

Why?

After panting from the long, endless run and throwing up, Sabo determinedly looked at the ocean. He may be running away, but he was not going to stay in this place—no matter what. He had enough of it. Climbing into a dinghy, he stole away into the night and sailed to the ocean's horizon.

This must not be the only world. Surely, there must be places where people were actually kind. Where they actually cared about their kin, their race, the whole world in general.

Sabo rowed away from the island. Giving it one last glance, he saw how half of it was burning up into flames while the other half was covered in darkness. He could only comment that he'd rather live on the side with flames and burn to death than live with the evil shadows while allowing its darkness to suffocate and corrupt him.

Turning back to the wide ocean, he found himself relaxing with the soothing waves. His heart already set with adventure and the dreams he shared with his brothers. He was a bit sorry that he left first, but he knew that they would understand. And he knew that they wouldn't die because of the fire.

There was no way Ace and Luffy would get caught in something like that…hahaha… right?

* * *

**Grey Terminal**

With the help of Dadan, Ace finally beat the ugly bastard. But just beating him didn't change anything to Ace's much anger. Not only was he frustrated at his weak strength that he needed an old hag to help him beat the pirate, he also let them take Luffy and didn't know where to find him. Bluejam was already beaten unconscious and knocked into the next month—and possibly forever—when Dadan found out what happened to Garp's grandson.

Dadan, seeing the boy tear his head apart at the many things that had happened, softened her eyes before slapping him alert, "Ace, follow behind me. We need to get out before the fire gets worse."

Ace snapped awake and observed his surroundings. The fire was already outrageously hot, making him sweat like a hog while unable to think clearly. His head was already faint from the disgusting black smoke and his overly heated skin. He hated fire as of now.

While in his thoughts, Dadan walked through the flame walls. Ace yelled in shock, but Dadan gave him a look that made him follow after her. Though the two were after each other's throats for the year, they really did care about each other… Well, they did deep—very deep—inside.

And now, he had to admit that he was pretty worried about the large burns that the old hag was going to get from doing this.

.

.

.

After a week, Ace and Dadan recovered from their infectious burns and wounds from fighting Bluejam. And throughout the week, Ace was worried for Luffy and Sabo though refused to leave Dadan's side until she got better. Now, they were finally back at the humble bandit house on Mt. Colbo, just to be greeted by Dogra.

"Ace! Ace! Sabo left the island a week ago!"

Intrigued, he opened the letter that the bandit handed him. Apologies were written across the letter, but Ace felt the hatred and much disgust Sabo had for the nobles. Sighing, Ace just wished that Sabo didn't feel his call to the ocean when he did. Now he had to save Luffy himself. Sure, he was happy for the blonde, but really?

"Ace." Ace turned to the still feverish Dadan. "You're leaving this island as well."

It wasn't a question, but a fact that the both of them knew well. Ace snorted, "Of course, I am! I won't let those bastards take Luffy and get away with it."

Ace sheepishly rubbed his neck as he walked away from the house, but hesitated when he reached the forest's edge, "…Take care of yourself, Dadan. I really appreciate all that you have done for me."

Without looking back, he ran towards the ocean's edge, hoping that the Bluejams haven't left yet, though already having a feeling that they did. But it didn't matter. Ace will never fail his brother.

"Just wait, Luffy. I'll save you. No matter what it takes, I will definitely save you."

* * *

**Bluejam's Ship**

"Captain hasn't come back yet! Do you think that he has been done in?"

"Psh, no one can do him in… He's Bluejam!"

But the doubt in those words were present. All of them heard it. Porchemy stomped his feet loudly on deck, "We go! It has been a week and he hasn't arrived yet. He's gone so let's go. We have the rubber brat, ready to sell and profit from. Not like any of us liked that damn asshole of a captain anyways."

"…" They looked at each other hesitantly, but Porchemy's words struck home. Within moments, they forgot about their commanding captain and readied for their long-awaited rich ocean life again.

"SET SAIL FOR GREY COVE!"

"AYE!"

.

.

.

Just a few minutes later, Ace arrived at the beach where he remembered the Bluejam ship to be.

It wasn't there.

Did he get the wrong beach? His mind immediately disagreed as he saw a speck of yellow near the water. Quickly, he ran towards it and picked up the hat. Luffy's treasured straw hat. The boy was here. Here… and no more.

He cursed and sprinted to Fuschia Village, stole a map and a dinghy, and set sail toward Grey Cove. Every mountain bandit knew the legendary place—legendary for being the only slave-trading post there was in East Blue.

Many around the world think that East Blue is just a peaceful sea where nothing happens… But wherever humans roamed, corruption and evil roamed.

East Blue was definitely not an exception.

There was the rich, snotty nobles of Goa Kingdom, slave-traders of Grey Cove, barbaric tribes of the seven hidden islands that were just as dangerous as the islands on the Grand Line. The last mentioned was a secret though since the Government didn't want anyone to know about there being such islands outside of the Grand Line. (Ace only knew because Garp threw him and Luffy there a couple of times for his training of love).

But other than those places, East Blue was just peaceful East Blue. And the government made it remain that way, fearful of another pirate king emerging from this part of the seas. It was weird when you thought of it though. Although all the other blue sea-ers looked condescendingly down at East Blue as the weakest of the seas, a lot of famously strong people came from East Blue.

Roger, Rayleigh, Garp, Shanks, Yasopp, Benn Beckman, Dragon…

So it made the boy wonder why they even thought of East Blue as weak.

But Ace had no time for thinking, he hurriedly paddled towards the place, hoping that Luffy hadn't been sold yet. But hopes, unfortunately, nearly never happen.

Instead, what can go wrong will go wrong.

* * *

**Grey Cove**

Luffy grunted as he felt someone land a heavy kick at his chest. Wearily, he woke up and looked around. It was dark and wet like a creepy cavern.

"Get up, brat. The Tenryuubito are arriving."

"Tenryuu-what? Who is that? Who are you?"

Luffy found himself get kicked across the room, landing on his bleeding arm. With a yelp, he struggled to get up and stared at the red bandages. Red bandages? Memories of what had happened flashed through his mind and he forced himself to be alert. He was shot by Bluejam somehow. The bullet felt icily cold and weakened him like seawater…

Heck, he felt weaken right now. As if his cuffs were draining his power. How?

"Look brat. Just remain silent and a good brat and the Tenryuubito will buy you."

The words caused him to look up angrily, "No one buys me! I'm a free pirate! Who the hell is mrgh—"

Hands covered his mouth while tightly gripped his face. Steel grey eyes sharply looked into Luffy's own obsidian ones, "You are not free anymore. You are not you. You are a slave. This is Grey Cove and no one cares about your existence anymore because slaves are easily expendable. I suggest that you silence yourself and do whatever your master—whoever buys you—tells you to do. The World Nobles—Tenryuubito—are coming and everyone in here will act their best, including you, newbie brat."

The hand let go, causing Luffy to fall to the ground panting for air. The man left the room and closed the door, making the room pitch black again. He was scared; what was happening? Where was Ace? Why was this even happening?

Ace…

.

.

.

Light once again filled the room as the door opened. The man with the steel gray eyes glared at him, freezing him in place. Then, he held the door open for a fat, ugly man in a spacesuit. Luffy stayed in his corner, not knowing what to do. The man looked like he was going to kill him if he talked. The spacesuit person looked at him as if he was some kind of animal, as if he wasn't human. The boy understood very well, the thoughts and emotions of others through their eyes… But this was the first time, he saw something like this.

He was used to 'brat', 'kid', 'trash', and every other condescending word, living near bandits, pirates, and nobles. But this was the first time he saw someone so haughty, someone who was clearly weaker and uglier than him act like he was the top of the world and that he, Luffy, was nothing.

Was this the 'World Noble' that the man was talking about? At least the nobles back at home knew about deals, promises (broken or not), and that the people like him were human though they thought that people like him were way inferior. This noble just looked like he can take, take, and take without a care. Like everything other himself didn't matter.

_This is Grey Cove and no one cares about your existence anymore because slaves are easily expendable._

The man's previous words echoed in Luffy's mind as he now understood. His instinct was screaming for him to stay still and make no false move. This was the type of person who had a gun and would shoot it without a care simply because he had nothing holding him back—no reason TO care.

After the spacesuit man eyed him, he said, "I'll buy him. 1,000,000 Beri right?"

Luffy widened his eyes in shock. That was a lot of money! He could live with Ace and Sabo happily and wealthily for a or two year. They could even stop stealing from the towns and pay back all that they owed. And that man was just giving it away just like that?

The cell door opened with a rusty creak and the man smirked, "Thanks, brat. I just got a lot of profit."

Luffy's eyes narrowed. He wasn't something to be sold! As soon as he felt himself unchained, he kicked the man away and tried escaping. But as soon as he got out of the cell door, he felt a bullet pierce his leg and lodge into his muscles. Luffy fell down with a yell. Tears protruded from his eyes as the excruciating pain shocked his brain and his body felt weak again. The shooter just casually put his gun back,

"All slaves try to make a run for it at first. Especially Devil Fruit brats that think they're so tough. That's why you let the seastone bullet stay inside the boy so that he is weak and stays weak. Are you an amateur seller? But no matter, I'll have fun breaking the boy."

A cold metal choked his neck and made a beep sound.

"Boy, this is a bomb collar. You listen to what I say and listen well or you explode into bits. Now get moving."

The spacesuit man walked forward and tugged the chain in his hands, causing Luffy to choke at the sudden jerk. Another jerk and Luffy followed the man with a crawl since his body was too weak to stand up. He had lost a lot of blood from the first bullet and now he's losing even more. That seastone-thing made him feel weak and lazy.

.

.

.

A day later, Ace arrived at the Grey Cove. Not caring about his exhaustion, he burst into the place with iron pipe ready. A steel gray-eyed man blocked his path,

"Brat, what are you doing here? Want to get sold?"

"No, but tell me where my brother is!"

"Brother? Oh, you must be that rubber brat's brother. He's sold already."

Ace narrowed his eyes in anger, "Sold? To who? I'll kill them."

The man laughed before regaining his composure, "Look, your brother is already sold as a slave. I suggest that you forget about him. His is a hopeless case."

"Hopeless?"

"Yup. The Tenryuubito, World Nobles, bought him. I'm sure you heard about them."

Ace paled; unlike Luffy, he tried to learn about the world. So he did know about those arrogant bastards. The steel eyed man seemed to be amused,

"I'm in a rather good mood today since your brother earned me a lot of money. So I'll forget about you and let you go… And heck, I'll even tell you that the Tenryuubito are heading to Alabastia before going back to their home in Mariejois. That will be your only time to see the rubber brat. After that, just give up on him."

"Alabastia?"

"A desert kingdom on the Grand Line. I heard that there is a civil war there. Now leave."

The man pushed him back and shut the door. Ace stared at the door for a while before determinedly going back to his dinghy. He was going to save Luffy no matter what. The kid didn't deserve to be the slave of such arrogant bastards or the slaves of anyone!

His brother was going to be the Pirate King, dammit!


End file.
